The Mafia Game
by FlitterFlutterFly
Summary: The first time Tsuna was hit with a Dying Will Bullet, something strange happened. Text suddenly appeared in front of him: YOU HAVE DIED. RESPAWN Y/N? He should have chosen "no". Video Game AU. Currently Gen.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **The first time Tsuna was hit with a Dying Will Bullet, something strange happened. Text suddenly appeared in front of him: YOU HAVE DIED. RESPAWN Y/N? He should have chosen "no".

**Pairings: **Currently Gen, with one-sided Tsuna/Kyoko for the beginning, later possible one-sided All/Tsuna, and maybe eventual Tsuna/Male Character

**Notes: **I read _Game of Life _by exocara and it inspired me to write my own Video Game AU, because there aren't many in this fandom anyway. Hopefully this first chapter isn't too boring for everyone. It's a lot of setup, because I kind of like writing the logistics down.

* * *

><p>It started with a baby and a bullet.<p>

_I regret…_ Tsuna thought as he died. His mind flashed to Kyoko, then his classmates, and then his poor mother. He regretted a lot of things, but nearly all of them stemmed from one thing.

_I regret being Dame-Tsuna._

And then the world went grey.

Tsuna opened his eyes, blinked, and looked around. Was this the afterlife? He could see Reborn still staring at him, gun frozen in air. Across the street, a dog had its mouth open mid-bark. At the light, a car was stopped midway through the intersection.

He had just enough time to ponder if he had become a ghost, when there was a bright flash of light. He closed his eyes against it and when he opened them again, he saw giant white letters floating in front of him.

**YOU HAVE DIED**

**RESPAWN: Y/N?**

"Hie?"

The words blinked and then more words appeared under them.

**THAT IS NOT A VALID ANSWER **

Tsuna rubbed his eyes, pinched himself, vigorously shook his head, but the words didn't change. Everyone stayed frozen, waiting, it seemed, for him.

"Um, yes?"

The **Y **flickered and then both the words and the grey faded away.

Tsuna promptly fell over.

For a moment, all Tsuna heard was that dog barking, and then Reborn scoffed and let go of his gun. It transformed back into a chameleon which curled up on his shoulder and promptly went to sleep.

"Get up, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. "You shot me."

Reborn tugged at his hat. "Hurry up, Dame-Tsuna. If you're late, I'll shoot you again."

"Hie!"

Tsuna ran to school, Reborn hot on his heels. He took a moment to contemplate the baby following him. All he knew about the suit-wearing child was that he was supposed to be Tsuna's tutor and that he'd said he was the world's greatest hitman. Tsuna wouldn't believe him, except that a part of him—that strange voice in the back of his head that had gotten him out a few scraps, if not all of them—said to be cautious. There was more to the baby than met the eye.

As Tsuna approached the gate of Namimori Middle School, he saw Mochida leaning over Kyoko, one arm caging her against the side column. Kyoko was obviously uncomfortable, staring down at her bag as the kendo captain talked at her.

Tsuna slowed to a walk, barely noticing as Reborn hopped onto his shoulder. "It seems Dame-Tsuna has competition for the girl he likes."

Shaking his head, Tsuna replied, "Kyoko-chan should date someone better than me. I'm no good, after all. But Mochida-san isn't any good either." He scowled. "He's making her uncomfortable."

"Well then you should do something about it, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn kicked him in the head and jumped off his shoulder.

Right before Reborn hit the ground, the world froze again. Tsuna "eep'd" and looked around. Like before, everything had greyed out and all sound except what came from his mouth was muted.

A bright flash and then words appeared right over the heads of Kyoko and Mochida.

**QUEST RECEIVED: Save Kyoko from Mochida **

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

Tsuna didn't know what was happening, why those words were appearing or what it meant. He wasn't stupid, of course. He'd never played video games before, but he knew enough to see the similarities.

He probably should be freaking out more, but he'd used up most of his energy dealing with the impossibility of having a baby tutor who, while he might not be a hitman like he'd claimed, at least knew more than most babies about how to use a gun. Finding out he was in some sort of reality-altering video game was just icing on top of a very strange, panic-inducing cake.

Tsuna looked at the frozen Kyoko. Even in monochrome, she was beautiful. She didn't deserve having to deal with Mochida's pawing. Tsuna knew he was useless, but if this weird video game thought he was good enough to be offered that quest, then he could do nothing but try to help her.

"Yes," Tsuna said, ignoring how his voice shook.

Like before, the **Y** flashed, but then new words appeared.

**QUEST ACCEPTED **

**LOOK AT JOURNAL: Y/N?**

"Yes," Tsuna said, hoping for some answers to the many questions he had.

A flash, and then a large orange book was suddenly in front of him. The front page said **QUEST JOURNAL** in bold black letters. Curious, Tsuna flipped a page.

**CONTENTS**

**MAIN QUESTS**

**SIDE QUESTS**

**COMPLETED QUESTS**

**… Back to Main Menu**

"Huh," Tsuna murmured. He tried to flip a page, but they wouldn't flip. Frowning, he flipped backwards. The title page appeared again. He flipped back to the second page.

"Completed Quests," Tsuna said aloud, but nothing happened. He scratched his head, and then cautiously touched the words instead. They flickered and then the book began to flip pages on its own, landing on a page that said:

**COMPLETED QUESTS**

**MAIN QUESTS**

**- Meet the Tutor**

**SIDE QUESTS**

Empty

**… Back to Journal Contents**

Curious, Tsuna touched Meet the Tutor. The journal pages flipped by themself, landing on a new page.

**QUEST: Meet the Tutor**

**SUMMARY**: In order for **Sawada Tsunayoshi** to learn of his destiny, **Timoteo** sent a tutor to train his young potential heir.

**QUEST OBJECTIVE:** Be introduced to **Reborn**.

**QUEST REWARD**: 100 XP, **Reborn** becomes an **Allied Character**.

**COMPLETED**: October 7, 2006 at 7:35 AM

**… Back to Completed Quests**

Who was Timoteo? The summary brought up more questions than it answered, really.

Tsuna touched the Back to Completed Quests button.

**COMPLETED QUESTS**

**MAIN QUESTS**

**- Meet the Tutor**

**SIDE QUESTS**

Empty

**… Back to Journal Contents**

Tsuna clicked the last button and the book flipped to the second page. He clicked Main Quests.

**MAIN QUESTS**

**VONGOLA DECIMO**

**- Unlock Dying Will Mode**

**… Back to Journal Contents**

He tried to click Vongola Decimo, but nothing happened. Then, he clicked Unlock Dying Will Mode. The journal flipped to the correct page.

**QUEST: Unlock Dying Will Mode**

**SUMMARY: **As the first step to unlocking his Flames, **Sawada Tsunayoshi** must enter DYING WILL MODE.

**QUEST OBJECTIVE: **Be hit by a DYING WILL BULLET or ingest a DYING WILL PILL and activate ability DYING WILL MODE.

**QUEST REWARD**: 200 XP, Ability Unlocked: DYING WILL MODE.

**… Back to Main Quests**

"A bullet!" Tsuna yelled as he read the summary. He took a couple breaths to calm himself down. The nice thing about this game thing was that he had as much time to think as he wanted. He wondered if the bullet he was hit with earlier was a Dying Will Bullet. What was the different between that and a regular bullet? Did it hurt more or less?

Shaking his head, Tsuna re-read the summary. He wondered what his Flames were and why they were capitalized. Obviously they were important, but other than that he had nothing.

Sighing, Tsuna hit Back to Main Quests from the bottom of the page and then Back to Contents. Then he hit Side Quests. Like he'd guessed, Save Kyoko from Mochida was there. He clicked it.

**QUEST: Save Kyoko from Mochida**

**SUMMARY: Mochida Kensuke** is bothering **Sasagawa Kyoko**.

**QUEST OBJECTIVE: **Confront **Mochida Kensuke**.

**QUEST REWARD**: 100 XP, **Sasagawa Kyoko** Friendship +1, **Mochida Kensuke** Respect +1 Aggression +7.

**… Back to Side Quests**

"Eep!" Tsuna squealed, looking at Aggression. Then again… Respect, huh? And gaining a little toward maybe being friends with Kyoko-chan!

Curiously, Tsuna clicked on the bolded Sasagawa Kyoko. The journal closed and vanished. A white screen appeared in its place. Taking up the entire left side was a full picture of Kyoko. She wore a cute pink dress and a lovely smile. On the right of the screen read:

**SASAGAWA KYOKO**

**LEVEL**: 1

**HEALTH**: 5

**ENERGY**: 5

**FLAME TYPE**: Mist

**ABILITIES**:

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 0/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 0/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 0/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Neutrals**

Tsuna winced at the zeros under Relationship, but was then distracted by Flame Type. Was that related to the Flames in his Dying Will quest? Why would Kyoko have them? What did Mist mean?

He hit the button for Back to Neutral and the screen changed.

**NEUTRAL CHARACTERS**

**- Sasagawa Kyoko**

**- Mochida Kensuke**

**… Back to Characters**

Shrugging, he hit Mochida's name. Mochida's picture was of him in his kendo outfit, complete with a wooden sword held in both hands.

**MOCHIDA KENSUKE**

**LEVEL**: 5

**HEALTH**: 25

**ENERGY**: 20

**FLAME TYPE**: Lightning

**ABILITIES**:

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 0/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 0/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 5/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Neutrals**

Lightning, huh? He wondered why the Flame Type things were all related to weather. He clicked Back to Neutrals then, at the bottom of that screen, Back to Characters.

**CHARACTERS**

**ACTIVE PARTY**

**ALLIES**

**ENEMIES**

**NEUTRALS**

**… Back to Main Menu**

He clicked Active Party which gave him an empty screen.

**ACTIVE PARTY**

Empty

**… Back to Characters**

Then he clicked Allies.

**ALLIED CHARACTERS**

**- Reborn**

**- Timoteo**

**… Back to Characters**

He clicked Timoteo first. He remembered that name from the Meet the Tutor quest. The screen had a place for a picture on the left, but it was just a black outline. He pouted, then read the information.

**TIMOTEO**

**LEVEL**: 75

**HEALTH**: 3,000

**ENERGY**: 1,000

**FLAME TYPE**: Sky

**ABILITIES**:

- VONGOLA NONO

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 5/25

- Romance (N/A)

- Respect 0/25

- Rapport (N/A)

- Aggression 0/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**PLACE IN PARTY** (N/A)

**… Back to Allies**

So this Timoteo had something to do with Vongola? What did Nono mean? For that matter, what did Decimo mean? Wasn't that in his Main Quest title?

But, wow, this Timoteo person was really high level. Even Mochida, who was captain of the kendo team, was only level 5!

Tsuna clicked Back to Allies and then Reborn. The picture on the left was Reborn wearing his suit and with his chameleon sitting on hat.

**REBORN**

**LEVEL**: 100

**HEALTH**: 5,000

**ENERGY**: 1,000

**FLAME TYPE**: Sun

**ABILITIES**:

- LEON THE CHAMELEON

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 0/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 0/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 15/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**PLACE IN PARTY **(LOCKED)

**… Back to Allies**

"Level 100!" Tsuna gaped. No wonder Reborn was so scary. But how could a baby get to be so high level? Had his mother taken steroids while she was pregnant or something?

He groaned as he saw the Aggression level. No wonder Reborn was willing to shoot him, even if he was supposed to be his tutor. He suppose he should be happy Reborn was in his Allies section, not the Enemies section. Speaking of that, Tsuna hit Back to Allies and Back to Characters, then Enemies.

**ENEMY CHARACTERS**

Empty

**… Back to Characters**

He wiped imaginary sweat off his forehead and hit Back to Characters. He stared at the screen for a moment and wondered why there were so few people listed. Only Reborn, Timoteo, Kyoko, and Mochida. Where were his other classmates? His mom?

But wait, all those people had been listed under one of his quests. Maybe that was why. He wondered how he went about receiving a quest from other people.

Tsuna hit the button Back to Main Menu.

**MAIN MENU**

**STATUS**

**CHARACTERS**

**INVENTORY**

**JOURNAL**

**EXIT MENU**

He'd already checked out the Characters and Journal sections, so he clicked on Inventory.

On the left of the new screen was a full picture of him, wearing only his boxers. Above his head was a tab that read **TSUNA**. That was the only tab. Superimposed over his boxer-clad image was:

**CURRENTLY EQUIPPED**

**HEAD**: Empty

**SHOULDERS**: Empty

**TORSO**: Empty

**LEGS**: Empty

**FEET**: Empty

**LEFT HAND**: Empty

**RIGHT HAND**: Empty

**OTHER**: Empty

In the right section there were four tabs: **EQUIPMENT**,** CONSUMABLES**,** MISCELLANEOUS**, and **KEY ITEMS**.

The Equipment tab was currently open.

**EQUIPMENT**

Empty

**AVAILABLE SLOTS**: 25

**… Back to Main Menu**

Tsuna hit the tabs for Consumables, Miscellaneous, and Key Items, but they were all empty and had 25 open slots.

Sighing, Tsuna went back to the Main Menu and then the last category, Status.

**STATUS**

**SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI**

**LEVEL**: 1 (400 XP to Next Level)

**HEALTH**: 5/5

**ENERGY**: 5/5

**STATS**:

- ATTACK: 0

- DEFENSE: 0

- MOVEMENT: 5

- INTELLIGENCE: 0

- CHARM: 1

**FLAME TYPE**: Sky

**ABILITIES**:

- VONGOLA HYPER INTUITION (Rank 1)

**… Back to Main Menu**

Tsuna deliberately ignore the Stats (0 for Intelligence? Ouch.) He hit the Hyper Intuition ability, hoping for more information about what this Vongola thing was. A pop-up screen appeared in front of it.

**VONGOLA HYPER INTUITION**

**ABILITY TYPE**: Passive

**SUMMARY**: A born trait only available to those who have the blood of the Vongola.

**RANK 1**: User has a 1/10 chance of sensing nearby danger.

**RANK 2**: _?_

**… Close**

Tsuna frowned. He supposed he could sometimes tell when something or someone was dangerous to him, but he'd thought that was normal or, if not, just something he'd learned from being bullied. He didn't know how to feel about it being something he'd inherited. But again, what was Vongola?

With everything on the menu explored, Tsuna pondered what to do next. He should close the menu and return to the real world, but if he did that then he'd need to confront Mochida. Which would probably get him beat up, considering the Aggression increase.

But… he had accepted the quest. And he couldn't leave Kyoko stranded there. And if he died, he supposed he'd just respawn, so that wasn't so bad.

"Okay," Tsuna said. "I can do this." He went back to the Main Menu and then hit the last button to exit it.

The screen blinked away and then the grey faded. Suddenly the world was back in focus and Tsuna had to take a second to re-adjust.

But Mochida was only a couple yards in front of him, sleazily grinning at Kyoko, and he had to do something. So he stepped forward.

"Um, excuse me?"

Kyoko glanced at him, but Mochida was saying something about his last kendo win and didn't notice.

Tsuna cleared his throat and said again, "Excuse me!"

Not only did Mochida stop and look at him, so too did several of the other students walking to class. Tsuna winced, but powered on. "Mochida-san, I don't think Kyoko-chan wants to go out with you. At the very least, you should give her a chance to answer."

"What did you say?" Mochida said, stepping away from Kyoko and toward Tsuna.

"I said, you should give Sasagawa-san a chance to tell you her answer," Tsuna replied.

"I'm pretty sure you just called her Kyoko-chan. Is that right? Do you like her, Dame-Tsuna?" Mochida laughed and several of the watching students joined in.

"I didn't say–" Tsuna began, but Mochida interrupted him.

"Why would Kyoko even look at a freak like you when she could have me?"

Tsuna looked from the laughing spectators to Reborn to Kyoko. She had a frown on her face, so different from her usual expression, and it was enough for Tsuna to gather his meager courage.

"Mochida-san, give Kyoko a chance to answer you!"

Just above Mochida's right shoulder, a small string of text appeared reading: **Hyper Intuition Senses Danger!**

"I don't need Kyoko to answer me, her answer is obviously a yes," Mochida growled. "And you need to be shown your place!"

The world froze and greyed out.

**QUEST COMPLETED: Save Kyoko from Mochida**

**100 XP Gained **

**Sasagawa Kyoko Friendship +1**

**Mochida Kensuke Respect +1 Aggression +7**

The words slowly faded and were replaced.

**QUEST RECEIVED: Show Mochida the Error of His Ways**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

"Eep!"

**THAT IS NOT A VALID ANSWER**

"I know, I know."

**THAT IS NOT A VALID ANSWER **

"Ugh!"

**THAT IS NOT A VALID ANSWER**

Tsuna threw his hands up in the air. He considered the quest. On one hand, he had a feeling Mochida was going to attack him regardless of whether he accepted the quest or not. On the other hand… that sounded dangerous.

He wished he could see the quest summary before accepting. That was frustrating.

Should he do it? For Kyoko?

Well, accepting it and failing was no worse than just not accepting it, right?

"Yes," Tsuna said.

**QUEST ACCEPTED**

**LOOK AT JOURNAL: Y/N?**

"Yes."

His journal appeared. Tsuna quickly clicked to the right page.

**SIDE QUESTS**

**- Show Mochida the Error of His Ways**

**… Back to Journal Contents**

He clicked on the quest.

**QUEST: Show Mochida the Error of His Ways**

**SUMMARY: Mochida Kensuke** has been treating women poorly.

**QUEST OBJECTIVE:** Teach **Mochida Kensuke** that he is wrong and show him a better way to treat women.

**QUEST REWARD**: 500 XP, **Mochida Kensuke** Friendship +1, Respect +5, Aggression -5.

**BONUS REWARD**: For all female characters present, Friendship +5, Respect +5.

**… Back to Side Quests**

Oh, apparently it wasn't a fighting quest. Well, Tsuna had no idea how he would show Mochida a better way to treat women but he didn't think there was a time limit on quests so he'd figure it out.

Tsuna hit all the buttons to get to Exit Menu and returned to the real world.

Just in time to remember that his Hyper Intuition had sensed danger.

"You and me, after school in the gym," Mochida said. "Be there, Dame-Tsuna. Or else."

With that, Mochida turned around and stalked to class. Tsuna was left shaking in place, already terrified of what was coming. He knew he wouldn't be able to skip, or some of Mochida's lackeys on the kendo team would drag him there—though not without beating him up first. No, he'd have to go and face his humiliation.

He could still respawn, he reminded himself. He wouldn't die permanently. That had to count for something, right?

Kyoko stepped forward and Tsuna suddenly remembered that she'd been there to watch him make a fool of himself trying to help her. But she was smiling now and that was nice to see. "Thanks, Tsuna-kun," she said. "I'm sorry for getting you mixed up in my troubles."

"It was my fault," Tsuna replied. "Not that I would choose differently! He shouldn't talk to you like that." He blushed and looked at the ground. "That's just what I think."

He glanced up in time to see Kyoko give him an even brighter smile. Text appeared over her shoulder: **Friendship +1**. Tsuna smiled back in response to both hers and the words. Maybe getting beat up by Mochida wouldn't be so bad, not if it meant the two points toward a friendship with Kyoko.

This whole game thing was pretty useful, actually. It was nice to have visible proof of doing something right for once.

The bell for class rang and they had to rush else risk being seen by the Head of the Disciplinary Committee. Tsuna didn't know what level Hibari was, but he doubted it was low.

Tsuna forgot about Reborn until midway through class, but he figured someone at Level 100 would be able to take care of himself, so he decided not to worry too much. He had a more important thing to worry about after all—and the time for it was rapidly approaching.

After class, he dragged his feet to the gym. Like he'd feared, the area was full of spectators. He sighed and timidly turned to face Mochida.

The fellow middle schooler explained they would be having a kendo duel. He gestured for one of his lackeys to hand Tsuna a shinai—a practice kendo sword—and some kendo armor. As the boy gave the stuff over, smirking too wide for Tsuna not to suspect some sort of trick, the sword and armor disappeared in a flash of light and words appeared in the space they had been.

**ITEM(S) RECEIVED**

**CHECK INVENTORY: Y/N?**

"Yes," Tsuna said and the world greyed out.

In the Inventory section, there were five new items in grids under the Equipment tab.

**EQUIPMENT**

BASIC SHINAI

BASIC KENDO CHEST GUARD

BASIC KENDO HELMET

BASIC KENDO SHOULDER PADS

BASIC KENDO LEG GUARDS

**AVAILABLE SLOTS**: 20

**… Back to Main Menu**

Tsuna clicked on the first item and a pop-up screen appeared.

**BASIC SHINAI**

**ITEM LEVEL**: 1

**ITEM TYPE**: Two-Handed Weapon (SWORD)

**DAMAGE**: 1-3 (PHYSICAL)

**EQUIP**: Y/N?

**… Close**

Tsuna equipped the shinai and suddenly that picture of him on the right in his boxers was holding the shinai.

"Cool," Tsuna said. He looked at the other pieces.

**BASIC KENDO CHEST GUARD**

**ITEM LEVEL**: 1

**ITEM TYPE**: Torso

**ARMOR**: +2 DEFENSE, -1 MOVEMENT

**EQUIP**: Y/N?

**… Close**

Tsuna was all for the extra defense, but the minus to movement… he supposed that was why the kendo lackey had been grinning. The armor must be restricting or heavy or something. He scowled, betting Mochida's armor fit him just fine.

Tsuna decided not to equip the chest guard just yet and instead looked at the next item.

**BASIC KENDO HELMET**

**ITEM LEVEL**: 1

**ITEM TYPE**: Head

**ARMOR**: +1 DEFENSE, -1 MOVEMENT

**EQUIP**: Y/N?

**… Close**

This one had negative movement too! And only 1 for defense. That definitely wasn't worth it. The next item was:

**BASIC KENDO SHOULDER PADS**

**ITEM LEVEL**: 1

**ITEM TYPE**: Shoulders

**ARMOR**: +1 DEFENSE, -1 MOVEMENT

**EQUIP**: Y/N?

**… Close**

Just as bad as the helmet. There was just one more item. He clicked on it.

**BASIC KENDO LEG GUARDS**

**ITEM LEVEL**: 1

**ITEM TYPE**: Torso

**ARMOR**: +1 DEFENSE, -1 MOVEMENT

**EQUIP**: Y/N?

**… Close**

Scratching his head, Tsuna clicked all the way back to the menu and then onto Status. He looked at his Stats for a moment. He only had five in Movement. He clicked on the stat, hoping for more information. He was in luck. A pop-up menu declared:

**MOVEMENT**

**IN COMBAT: **This stat gives the character a chance to dodge incoming attacks instead of taking a hit. Conversely, characters with higher movement than their opponent are more likely to land a hit.

**OUT OF COMBAT: **This stat increases a character's walking and running speed as well as the speed they complete activities.

**… Close**

Tsuna closed the pop-up and pressed for more information on Defense.

**DEFENSE**

**IN COMBAT ONLY: **This stat allows the character to take more damage without being hurt. When a character is hit, the amount of the Defense stat takes away from the damage. Whatever amount is remaining gets subtracted from the Health of the character.

**… Close**

Pondering that, Tsuna looked at Attack.

**ATTACK**

**IN COMBAT ONLY: **This stat shows the default amount of damage a character will do in battle. When a weapon is equipped, its damage stat is added to the character's Attack stat.

**… Close**

Without the shinai, Tsuna could literally do no damage in battle. He supposed that made sense considering past experience, but it still hurt to hear. With the shinai, at least he could do one to three. But… what was Mochida's Defense? And didn't Mochida have 25 Health points?

It was official, he was doomed.

Sighing, Tsuna went back to his Inventory. He had to decide if the negative Movement stat was worth the added Defense. He had no idea how high Mochida's Movement stat was either, but considering he was several levels higher… it seemed a better idea to try to dodge hits then take the damage. Still, the chest guard had a better Defense rating than the other armor pieces. He equipped the chest guard and left the others in his inventory.

**CURRENTLY EQUIPPED**

**HEAD**: Empty

**SHOULDERS**: Empty

**TORSO**: BASIC KENDO CHEST GUARD

**LEGS**: Empty

**FEET**: Empty

**LEFT HAND**: BASIC SHINAI

**RIGHT HAND**: BASIC SHINAI

**OTHER**: Empty

His inventory picture looked rather funny wearing boxers, a chest guard, and holding a shinai… but it would have to do.

Curious, Tsuna went back to his Status page. Now it read:

**STATUS**

**SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI**

**LEVEL**: 1 (300 XP to Next Level)

**HEALTH**: 5/5

**ENERGY**: 5/5

**STATS**:

- ATTACK: 0 (+1-3)

- DEFENSE: 0 (+2)

- MOVEMENT: 5 (-1)

- INTELLIGENCE: 0

- CHARM: 1

**FLAME TYPE**: Sky

**ABILITIES**:

- VONGOLA HYPER INTUITION (Rank 1)

**… Back to Main Menu**

Well, that was at least better than before.

Tsuna exited the menu and readied himself. As the world started up again, he realized he had no idea how to change into the picture with the sword and the chest guard. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about it long, for Mochida's kendo lackey announced the battle start and suddenly Tsuna saw the world change.

He was still in the gym, but instead of standing in the middle of a crowd, now Tsuna and Mochida were standing in a perfect circle. Surrounding them was a dark mass of people outlines, but without any discernible faces. Over Mochida's head, text appeared along with a long bar.

**Mochida Kensuke (lvl 5)** it read. Beside the bar was **25/25**. Tsuna supposed that was his Health. He looked around and saw that his own Health was shown in a similar bar to his left, expect it only read **5/5**. Next to his red Health bar was a green Energy bar that read, also **5/5**.

The other strange thing was that Mochida had magically changed into his kendo gear. He wore a full set of armor and a had a nicer looking shinai than the one Tsuna was holding. Tsuna, on the other hand, was embarrassed to notice he wore exactly what was shown in his Inventory picture: meaning he had no pants on, only boxers.

Mochida didn't seem to notice, though. Nor was he looking at the strange situation with their surroundings. Instead, he just stood in place, shinai stretched in front of him, ready for battle.

And then text appeared between them.

**BATTLE START IN…**

**5…**

**4…**

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**GO!**

Suddenly intense music filled the air. Tsuna "eep'd" and frantically looked around to see where it was coming from. He looked back at Mochida just in time to see the kendo captain approached with his sword raised. Tsuna lifted his own sword up, but not in time to block. Mochida's sword hit Tsuna square in the shoulder and he reeled backwards.

A large number **5 **appeared between them. Tsuna looked to his left and saw that his Health had dropped down by 3 points, so it was now **2/5**. He realized quickly the 5 was the amount of damage Mochida had done. With his 2 points of Defense subtracted… he still couldn't take another hit like that.

Mochida swung again, but this time Tsuna managed to dodge. He supposed it was smart of him to have kept the amount toward Movement. Except, he still need to land a hit on Mochida and hope to do at least a little damage.

Swallowed, Tsuna rushed forward. Mochida didn't even try to dodge, making Tsuna wonder if the kendo captain even had any points in his Movement stat.

A smaller number **2** appeared between them. Tsuna looked hopefully at Mochida's Health, but it didn't go down at all.

Backing up, Tsuna considered Mochida's armor. Even if it was the exact same as what his had been… that still meant Mochida had at least 5 points in Defense.

There was literally no way for him to damage Mochida.

Tsuna contemplated just standing still so Mochida could hit him and get this torture over with, but just then something appeared in the sidelines. He blinked and looked to see Reborn appear from the faceless crowd.

"Here, Dame-Tsuna!" the baby said, pulling the trigger on his gun.

Tsuna didn't have time dodge (or was it that he didn't have enough Movement to counteract the Movement of a Level 100?) He was hit by the bullet.

The world went grey.

**YOU HAVE BEEN HIT WITH A DYING WILL BULLET **

**ACTIVATE DYING WILL MODE: Y/N?**

"Yes."

The rest of the battle was a blur. He remembered feeling power flow through him. He remembered that his next hits with the shinai did 10 damage each. He remembered that Mochida couldn't lay a hit on him, he was too fast.

And then the battle was over and the power flowed away like sand through his fingers. Mochida was on the ground, his Health bar showing **0/25**.

In the space between then, more text appeared.

**BATTLE WON**

**200 XP Gained**

**Mochida Kensuke Respect +5**

The arena began to fade away, but before the real world could return, the usual menu grey asserted itself.

**QUEST COMPLETED: Unlock Dying Will Mode **

**200 XP Gained**

**Ability Unlocked: DYING WILL MODE**

A ding sounded and the screen shifted:

**SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI HAS LEVELED UP**

**LEVEL: 2**

**+3 HEALTH**

**+3 ENERGY**

**+3 STAT POINTS**

The screen shifted to show his Status page, the level up information still hovering to the left of it. He was happy about the increase in Health, though he still wasn't sure what Energy did. And three Stat points? But his Stats looked the same… oh, he wondered if he had to choose where they went.

Tsuna pondered that for a moment. Should he increase his natural Attack? Or maybe his Intelligence or Charm?

Wait, he still didn't know what those two did. He clicked Intelligence first.

**INTELLIGENCE**

**IN COMBAT: **This stat allows the character to predict their opponent's next move if the opponent's Intelligence is lower.

**OUT OF COMBAT: **This stat allows the character to perform better at school and work.

**… Close**

Well, that second part was rather obvious. No wonder his was 0. He was Dame-Tsuna. Wait though… did that mean if he increased his Intelligence, he might start doing better on quizzes and tests? That was amazing!

He was tempted to just put all three in Intelligence immediately, but refrained himself. He checked Charm next.

**CHARM**

**IN COMBAT: **This stat gives the character a greater chance of being rewarded with Respect points after a battle and decreases the chance of added Aggression points.

**OUT OF COMBAT: **This stat increases the chance of the character being rewarded with Friendship or Respect points from conversation or other activities.

**… Close**

That sounded useful too. It was all useful, really. If he increased his Defense, then maybe he'd take less damage from bullies too. He also needed to increase his Attack if he wanted to do any damage.

With only 3 points to spend, Tsuna ended up deciding on just boosting his three stats at 0. If he managed to gain another couple levels, he'd start increasing Movement and Charm, but first he just needed to buff his weaknesses. Now his stats read:

**STATUS**

**SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI**

**LEVEL**: 2 (650 XP to Next Level)

**HEALTH**: 8/8

**ENERGY**: 8/8

**STATS**:

- ATTACK: 1 (+1-3)

- DEFENSE: 1 (+2)

- MOVEMENT: 5 (-1)

- INTELLIGENCE: 1

- CHARM: 1

**FLAME TYPE**: Sky

**ABILITIES**:

- VONGOLA HYPER INTUITION (Rank 1)

- DYING WILL MODE

**… Back to Main Menu**

Tsuna clicked on Dying Will Mode. It gave him a pop-up screen with this information:

**DYING WILL MODE**

**ABILITY TYPE**: Combat Special

**SUMMARY**: This ability is available to anyone with Dying Will Flames. It requires a DYING WILL BULLET or a DYING WILL PILL and only lasts for the duration of a single battle. The ability gives the user 500 percent boosted ATTACK, DEFENSE, and MOVEMENT, but the character loses control of their actions and attacks on auto-pilot until the battle ends.

**… Close**

No wonder he'd been able to win. Even with only 1-3 in Attack, 500 percent boosted meant he'd done 5-15 damage a hit.

Tsuna blinked, realizing he'd done basic math in his head. That point towards Intelligence was already kicking in!

Tsuna closed the menu. As the real world returned, he looked around for where Reborn went, but the baby was nowhere to be seen. He scowled, hoping he'd be able to get his answers soon. Why did Reborn have Dying Will Bullets? Why did unlocking that ability have anything to do with this mysterious Main Quest?

Tsuna realized the crowd was silent. He looked around and saw that most of the spectators had their mouth open in shock. "I can't believe Dame-Tsuna defeat Mochida!" he heard someone whisper to their friend.

He wondered what everyone else had seen. Had they seen the arena battle? Or something else? Did the game just make everyone think battling like that was normal?

Mochida groaned and got to his feet. Tsuna stepped forward, suddenly worried. He'd completely destroyed Mochida's Health! He didn't like the guy, but he didn't want to really hurt him that badly either.

Before he could offer aid, Mochida's kendo lackey's came forward and helped him stand.

"You defeated me," Mochida said. He looked exhausted, but he was alive at least. "I suppose you are worthy of the prize of Kyoko."

All worry Tsuna had held for Mochida promptly disappeared. "Kyoko-chan isn't a prize! People can't be prizes!"

Mochida blinked. "You're weird, Dame-Tsuna. Women are trophies. You aim for the biggest and brightest and fight for it and then you win."

"That's stupid!" Tsuna shot back. "Women are people just like anyone else. They have the same feelings we do. How would you feel if someone decided that you were the prize of some stupid fight without your say so? How would you feel if someone just decided they were dating you and didn't even ask? Women aren't trophies or prizes or whatever." He pulled at his hair, frustrated. He'd seen his mother cry at night, seen her dragged down by the weight of being the _trophy_ wife to a man who was never home and had to gall to so obviously lie about where he was and what he was doing. If there was one thing he knew he was right on, it was that there was no difference between men and women—not with things like respect and feelings.

Mochida was staring at him. For that matter, so too was the crowd. Tsuna flushed and clamped his mouth shut.

Then Kyoko stepped forward, followed by her best friend Kurokawa Hana. Hana nodded at Tsuna and above her shoulder, Tsuna saw the words **Kurokawa Hana has been added to Neutral Characters**.

"Tsuna-kun is right, Mochida-san," Kyoko said. "I'm not a prize and I don't want to be won. I think you're great at kendo, but I don't want to date you."

Mochida gaped, closed his mouth, gaped some more, and then slowly shook off his helpers. He turned to Kyoko, took a deep breath, and bowed. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. That was never my intention." Then he turned to Tsuna. "Thanks for telling me that, Sawada. I guess I needed to hear it."

**QUEST COMPLETED: Show Mochida the Error of His Ways**

**500 XP Gained**

**Mochida Kensuke Friendship +1, Respect +5, Aggression -5**

**Sasagawa Kyoko Friendship +5, Respect +5**

**Kurokawa Hana Friendship +5, Respect +5**

Tsuna grinned as the world went back to normal. "I'm just glad you understand now, Mochida-san," he said.

Mochida nodded and let his lackeys help him limp away. Tsuna turned to Kyoko and Hana. Kyoko smiled at him. "Thank you, Tsuna-kun."

Tsuna blushed. "You're welcome," he mumbled.

Hana snorted. "I guess you're not so bad, Sawada." She shook her head. "Let's go, Kyoko."

Kyoko nodded and they left.

Later, on his way home, Tsuna wondered how to get back into the menu. He wanted to look at the Characters page. He scratched his head and shrugged. It'd look stupid if he was wrong, but he might as well try. "Main Menu," he said aloud.

The word greyed and the menu appeared. He pumped a fist in the air, pleased with his success. He pressed Characters and then Neutrals, then on the three names there.

**SASAGAWA KYOKO**

**LEVEL**: 1

**HEALTH**: 5

**ENERGY**: 5

**FLAME TYPE**: Mist

**ABILITIES**:

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 7/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 5/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 0/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Neutrals**

He was up to 7 in friendship with Kyoko already! He wondered how to unlock the Romance section. Maybe if he continued to increase Friendship and Respect?

**MOCHIDA KENSUKE**

**LEVEL**: 5

**HEALTH**: 25

**ENERGY**: 20

**FLAME TYPE**: Lightning

**ABILITIES**:

- KENDO COMBO STRIKE

- CAPTAIN OF THE KENDO TEAM

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 1/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 11/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 7/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Neutrals**

He could see one of Mochida's Abilities now? Kendo Combo Strike? He didn't remember that being used… then again he had been in Dying Will Mode so he barely remembered the battle. And Captain of the Kendo Team? He wondered if that was an active ability or a passive one like his Hyper Intuition.

He went back to the Neutral Characters page then clicked on the newest member.

**KUROKAWA HANA**

**LEVEL**: 3

**HEALTH**: 15

**ENERGY**: 15

**FLAME TYPE**: Rain

**ABILITIES**:

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP**:

- Friendship 5/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 5/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 0/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Neutrals**

Huh, Hana was already Level 3? Well, she was pretty strong, he supposed. But hey, he was well on his way to actually being friends were her too. And everyone knew that if Hana didn't like and respect you, you could actually get nowhere with Kyoko. Hana was scarily protective of her best friend.

Nodding, Tsuna closed the menu and finished walking home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: **I already have a massive ten page list of notes for this story. Wow. Who knew Video Game AUs were so complicated?

* * *

><p>When Tsuna got home, he was greeted by his mom. As soon as he saw her the words <strong>Sawada Nana has been added to Allied Characters<strong> appeared. He grinned and hugged her. When he pulled back, he saw both the surprised smile on her face and the words **Friendship +1**. He blinked. Just a simple hug was enough to increase their friendship bond?

"Tsu-kun is happy today," Nana said.

"I guess I am," Tsuna replied. "Do you need any help with dinner, Mom?"

**Respect +1** accompanied by an even bright smile. "Tsu-kun is so good to ask! Could you run to the store and pick up more milk and bread?"

**QUEST RECIEVED: Get Groceries**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

"Yes."

**QUEST ACCEPTED.**

**LOOK AT JOURNAL: Y/N?**

"No," Tsuna said. He'd do that on the way to the store. The world went back to normal. "No problem, Mom."

"Here's some money then. Thanks, Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna smiled and headed back out.

At the end of the street, Tsuna called up the menu.

**MAIN MENU**

**STATUS**

**CHARACTERS**

**INVENTORY**

**JOURNAL**

**EXIT MENU**

He clicked on Journal first to check out the specifics of the quest. His orange journal appeared and he clicked on Side Quests.

**SIDE QUESTS**

**- Get Groceries**

**… ****Back to Journal Contents**

He clicked on his new quest.

**QUEST: Get Groceries**

**SUMMARY: Sawada Nana **needs grocery supplies.

**QUEST OBJECTIVE: **Buy JUG OF MILK and LOAF OF BREAD from a vendor.

**QUEST REWARD:** 50 XP, **Sawada Nana** Friendship +1, BOTTLE OF MILK, SLICE OF BREAD

**… ****Back to Side Quests**

"Cool," Tsuna said. He wondered what those item rewards did. He'd find out, he supposed. He clicked on his mom's name.

**SAWADA NANA**

**LEVEL:** 10

**HEALTH:** 100

**ENERGY: **50

**FLAME TYPE:** Rain

**ABILITIES:**

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP:**

- Friendship 16/25

- Romance (N/A)

- Respect 1/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 0/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… ****Back to Allies**

His mom was a Rain Flame type like Hana? And Level 10! But, ouch, with the respect he gained earlier… that meant she hadn't respected him at all before. He supposed he was Dame-Tsuna even to his mom.

Tsuna sighed and closed the menu. There was nothing to do but work a better relationship. 16 in friendship was better than he had with anyone else but this was his mom… he should be at 25 already, shouldn't he?

As he approached the corner with the grocery store, Tsuna saw a couple thugs smoking cigarettes at the entrance of the nearby alleyway. He winced and tried to avoid eye contact. There weren't many thugs in Namimori because of the work of the Disciplinary Committee (well, mostly because of Hibari… he'd taken control of even the high school's Disciplinary group when he was still in primary school). Still, the thugs sometimes tried their luck when they were far enough from the school district.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuna saw the thugs straighten up. Over their shoulders words he hated to see appeared: **Namimori Thugs have been added to Enemy Characters.**

Were Tsuna older, he would have cursed. As it was, all he could do was squeal as the thugs began to approach. And then, just like had happened with Mochida, the surroundings changed.

Now, Tsuna stood in what looked like a mock alleyway. Across from him were the two thugs. Both wore leather jackets and had their fists raised. Next to both of them were the words:

**Namimori Thug (lvl 1) - Health 5/5**

Tsuna took a couple steadying breaths. Okay, this wasn't so bad. There were two… but they were both a level lower than him. He looked down and noticed that, yes, he was wearing that kendo chest guard and holding the shinai. Hopefully with the added point in Attack, he'd be able to actually do damage—because he doubted Reborn was in the sidelines this time with a Dying Will Bullet ready to give him.

**BATTLE START IN…**

**5…**

**4…**

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**GO!**

The thug on the left lunged forward to try to punch him. Tsuna dodged, but was hit by the thug on the left. A large **4 **appeared.

Ouch, even with the armor he wore, his Health dropped to **7/8**.

Tsuna dodged just as the first thug attacked with both fists in five rapid punches. Unlike the fight with Mochida, he could actually see the accompanying text now.

**Namimori Thug uses FIVE-STRIKE COMBO!**

So that must have been how his Character page had updated.

Tsuna figured it was time for him to actually try to attack, so he turned to the thug that had just tried the combo and swung as hard as he could with his shinai. It hit and with a medium-sized **3**. The thugs bar dropped: **Health 4/5**.

Ugh! So the thugs had two points toward defense. This was going to be a long fight.

The thug on the right managed to hit him. His Health dropped to **6/8**. But he managed to hit the other thug again, this time with a large **4**.

A couple more strikes and they were at:

**Sawada Tsunayoshi (lvl 2) - Health 5/8, Energy 8/8**

**Namimori Thug (lvl 1) - Health 2/5**

**Namimori Thug (lvl 1) - Health 5/5**

If he hadn't leveled up, Tsuna would be in real trouble. As it was, he managed another **4** on the left thug and he dropped like a sack of grain to the ground. Now his bar showed:

**X Namimori Thug (lvl 1) - Health 0/0**

The X next to the name was nice to see. Tsuna grinned and turned to the remaining thug in time to get hit again, bringing his health to **4/8**.

Luckily, his high Movement kicked in after that and he managed to defeat the thug without being hit again.

**BATTLE WON**

**100 XP Gained**

**Namimori Thugs Aggression +1**

**THUG JACKET Received**

**PACK OF CIGARETTES Received**

Tsuna wiped his forehead as the world went back to normal. He watched the thugs limp off, so relieved for this game thing. Previously, he would have been left beaten up in the alley, his wallet gone. Now, while he was sore, he had actually managed to beat the thugs back! It was basically a miracle.

Tsuna called up his menu and went to the Enemies section first, curious what it said about the thugs.

**NAMIMORI THUGS**

**LEVEL:** 1

**HEALTH:** 5

**ENERGY:** 5

**FLAME TYPE:** N/A

**ABILITIES:**

- FIVE STRIKE COMBO

**RELATIONSHIP:**

- Friendship 0/25

- Romance (N/A)

- Respect 0/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 1/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Enemies**

Like with his mom and that Timoteo person, the Romance section was not available. Interestingly, neither was Flames for these guys. Tsuna wondered why.

Tsuna clicked the Locked next to Rapport, wondering if it would give him any information on how to unlock it. Nothing popped up. Shrugging, Tsuna exited the Characters section and went to his Inventory.

**EQUIPMENT**

BASIC KENDO SHOULDER PADS

BASIC KENDO HELMET

BASIC KENDO LEG GUARDS

THUG JACKET

**AVAILABLE SLOTS:** 22

**… Back to Main Menu**

Tsuna clicked on his newest equipment item.

**THUG JACKET**

**ITEM LEVEL:** 1

**ITEM TYPE:** Torso

**ARMOR:** +2 DEFENSE

**EQUIP: **Y/N?

**… Close**

Hey, it didn't decrease his Movement like the kendo chest guard. Tsuna quickly swapped out the items. Then he paused. Even with a negative Movement, that was still his highest stat and he'd done pretty well. Maybe he should equip the leg guards.

At least that way he wouldn't be showing off his boxers in a fight.

Nodding, Tsuna equipped the leg guards and grinned as he picture changed to something a little more presentable (if weird with a leather jacket over kendo pants).

**CURRENTLY EQUIPPED - TSUNA**

**HEAD:** Empty

**SHOULDERS:** Empty

**TORSO:** THUG JACKET

**LEGS:** BASIC KENDO LEG GUARDS

**FEET:** Empty

**LEFT HAND:** BASIC SHINAI

**RIGHT HAND:** BASIC SHINAI

**OTHER:** Empty

Next, he checked where that pack of cigarettes went. It wasn't in Consumables, so he check Miscellaneous.

**MISCELLANEOUS**

PACK OF CIGARETTES

**AVAILABLE SLOTS:** 24

**… Back to Main Menu**

He clicked on the cigarettes, mentally hoping that his mom wouldn't somehow be able to find them. He'd be in real trouble if she thought he was carrying those around.

**PACK OF CIGARETTES**

**ITEM LEVEL:** 1

**ITEM TYPE:** Relationship

**USE:** When given to characters with a penchant for cigarettes, +3 Friendship.

**GIVE:** Y/N?

**… Close**

"Maybe I could give these to another set of thugs," Tsuna wondered aloud. He checked his Status page real quick, wondering how much experience he needed to the next level.

**STATUS**

**SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI**

**LEVEL:** 2 (550 XP to Next Level)

**HEALTH:** 4/8

**ENERGY:** 8/8

**STATS:**

- ATTACK: 1 (+1-3)

- DEFENSE: 1 (+3)

- MOVEMENT: 5 (-1)

- INTELLIGENCE: 1

- CHARM: 1

**FLAME TYPE:** Sky

**ABILITIES:**

- VONGOLA HYPER INTUITION (Rank 1)

- DYING WILL MODE

**… Back to Main Menu**

Well, finishing this quest would get him to a solid 500 XP to go. He wondered how to heal his Health. His added Defense point meant he'd probably be able to handle another couple thugs, but any more than that and he'd be in trouble.

Tsuna closed the menu and walked the last couple steps to the grocery store. As he approached the register, having to pass it to get toward the milk section, the store clerk spoke up.

"Hello, would you like to buy or sell?"

Tsuna looked at the woman and suddenly the surroundings greyed out. The girl was still in full color though, and next to her was a screen with the options she'd just said listed:

**BUY**

**SELL**

**… Exit**

"Um, buy," Tsuna said.

"Great, what would you like?" the girl—the vendor, he supposed—replied.

**BOTTLE OF MILK**

**JUG OF MILK**

**SLICE OF BREAD**

**LOAF OF BREAD**

**PIECE OF CANDY**

**BAG OF CANDY**

**… Exit**

"What's the difference between a bottle of milk and a jug of milk?" Tsuna wondered aloud.

"The BOTTLE OF MILK restores 2 Health to the user," the vendor answered, seeing to find nothing weird about what she was saying, or the fact that her words had also appeared in written form next to her. "The JUG OF MILK restores 5 Health to the user."

"It that the same with the bread?"

"The SLICE OF BREAD restores 5 Health to the user. The LOAF OF BREAD restores 12 Health to the user."

"Okay then," Tsuna muttered. He counted out the yen his mom had given him and looked at the prices on the right of the screen. She'd given him just enough for the jug of milk and loaf of bread. "What about the candy?" he asked, curious.

"The PIECE OF CANDY restores 1 Energy to the user. The BAG OF CANDY restores 5 Energy to the user."

"Huh." Tsuna had yet to figure out what used up Energy, but he supposed that might be useful later so he made a mental note. "I'll take one loaf of bread and one jug of milk."

He gave the vendor the money and the screen flashed.

**ITEM(S) RECEIVED.**

**LOOK AT INVENTORY: Y/N?**

"No," Tsuna said. And then, "Exit."

"Thank you, have a good day," the vendor replied.

The world returned to normal and Tsuna left the store. Shopping was suddenly a lot easier than before, he thought. He was liking this whole game thing more and more.

As he walked home, Tsuna kept an eye out for more thugs. There wasn't any and he returned home with no trouble.

"I have the stuff, Mom," he said as he entered the house.

"Thanks, Tsu-kun!" Nana replied and she began reaching forward.

The world froze.

**QUEST COMPLETED: Get Groceries**

**50 XP Gained**

**Sawada Nana Friendship +1**

**BOTTLE OF MILK Received**

**SLICE OF BREAD Received**

The words faded and Tsuna found that he'd just handed the milk and bread to his mom. He blinked and then smiled. "Have anything else you want me to do, Mom?"

"Not right now, Tsu-kun. I think your new tutor is in your room. You should start on your homework."

Tsuna sighed. That was way less fun. "Yes, Mom."

He trudged up to his room and opened the door. Like his Mom had said, Reborn was in his room. The baby was sitting on his bed, sipping a cup of coffee. "Ciaossu."

"Hi," Tsuna said.

"So Dame-Tsuna is good enough to go shopping for his mother," Reborn said. "In the future, you will not do such menial tasks, but for now it is good to develop a stronger relationship with your current Family."

Tsuna blinked and wondered if Reborn knew about the game thing too… what he'd said was oddly suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"It is time for you to know the truth! I am here not just to be your tutor, but to train you to be the next boss of the Vongola Famiglia."

Tsuna sat down heavily. "What's Vongola?"

"One of the largest and strongest mafia organizations in Italy and the world."

**QUEST RECEIVED: Discover the History of Vongola**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

"Yes," Tsuna said, almost absentmindedly.

**QUEST ACCEPTED**

**LOOK AT JOURNAL: Y/N?**

"No." He returned to the conversation with Reborn. "So wait, you want _me _to be a mafia boss?"

"Vongola Nono, the current boss of Vongola, has chosen you."

So that was what that meant. So Vongola Decimo must also be a title. He wished he knew what Nono and Decimo meant.

**QUEST RECEIVED: Learn Italian**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

"What!"

**THAT IS NOT A VALID RESPONSE**

Tsuna glared at the words. "Fine, yes." He didn't know how in the world he'd manage to learn a whole new language when he was already failing English in school, but he'd figure it out.

**QUEST ACCEPTED**

**LOOK AT JOURNAL: Y/N?**

"No."

Tsuna shook his head. "Why would the current boss want me to be his successor?"

"You're the only option." Reborn pulled out a chart from seemingly nowhere. "See, Vongola Primo, the first boss, is your great-great-great-great etcetera grandfather."

Tsuna squinted at the chart. "But that means my dad or mom is also…"

"Your father is already a member of Vongola, of course, but he is the External Advisor and therefore not eligible for the position of Vongola Decimo."

**Sawada Iemitsu has been added to Allied Characters.**

Tsuna resolved to fume about his father later. "What about this Nono guy. Doesn't he have children?"

"His sons Enrico, Massimo, and Federico have died. You are the next possible choice."

"But I don't want to be a mafia boss!"

"Too bad, Dame-Tsuna. You have no choice."

Tsuna expected that to spark a quest, but it didn't. He sat back for a moment and stared at the ceiling. That section in his Main Quests was titled Vongola Decimo… maybe Reborn was right and he did have no choice. It was a set quest line, wasn't it? It had been there even before he actually go in the game, judging by the first completed quest.

He didn't want to be a mafia boss… but it wasn't really that scary if he just thought of it like a game. It was just a mafia game, The Mafia Game even.

"Okay," Tsuna said. "So you're here to train me?" He looked back at Reborn.

Reborn tugged his hat. Over his shoulder, **Respect +1** appeared. Tsuna smiled.

"I am the greatest hitman in the world," Reborn said.

At Level 100, Tsuna supposed he could believe it. "Um, thanks," he offered. "I know I'm probably not a very promising student. But I'll work hard."

**Respect +1 **"You are Dame-Tsuna… but with that attitude you might just survive."

Tsuna gulped. That sounded threatening. Just a game, he reminded himself.

He shook his head to get rid of the panic and focused on getting more answers. "That bullet you hit me with when I was fighting Mochida, what was that?"

Reborn stared at his with those perceptive black eyes for a moment, before answering. "A Dying Will Bullet."

"What does it do?" Tsuna pressed.

"If you have time to question me, you have time to work on your homework," Reborn said instead. "No mafia boss is allowed to get failing grades, Dame-Tsuna." He smirked. "I won't answer any questions until your homework is at least eighty-five percent correct."

"Eighty-five!" The most he'd ever gotten on a homework assignment was seventy-five, and that was a rare case.

**QUEST RECEIVED: Get 85 Homework Points**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

Tsuna sighed. "Yes."

**QUEST ACCEPTED**

**LOOK AT JOURNAL: Y/N?**

"Yes."

He flipped to the Side Quests section.

**SIDE QUESTS**

**- Learn Italian**

**- Get an 85 Points on Homework**

**… Back to Journal Contents**

He supposed the Discover the History of Vongola quest must be under the Main Quests section. He clicked on his homework quest.

**QUEST: Get 85 Homework Points**

**SUMMARY: **It's homework time!

**QUEST OBJECTIVE: **Win at least 85 Points at the **Homework Challenge**

**QUEST REWARD:** 100 XP, +1 INTELLIGENCE, **Reborn** Ability Activated: HOME TUTOR

**… Back to Side Quests**

The Homework Challenge? What was that? Tsuna clicked the bolded text.

Suddenly the journal closed and Tsuna found himself sitting at his desk. "Hie!?"

Perched on the wall behind his desk were big words.

**THE HOMEWORK CHALLENGE**

**Answer the questions in the time allotted. Every correct answer gives 3 points. Every incorrect answer takes 1 point.**

**Current Difficulty: Easy (Grade 7)**

**START: Y/N?**

That actually sounded a little more fun that usual homework.

"Yes!" Tsuna said.

**FIRST CATEGORY: MATH**

Ugh, math.

**QUESTION 1: 4x + 7 = 15**

He looked to the left and saw that there was a 30 second counter slowly ticking down. He looked down and saw that there was pencil and paper. He scratched his head and slowly subtracted seven from fifteen. That was… nine? No, that would make x a fraction. Maybe eight?

"2," Tsuna said.

**CORRECT**

**3 Points**

**Total: 3 Points**

**QUESTION 2: (100)(x)(x) / (10)(x)**

This one was easier. Just canceling out and…

"10x!"

**CORRECT**

**3 Points**

**Total: 6 Points**

**QUESTION 3: 35 / 475**

Tsuna scratched his head. He always struggled with long division. And he didn't even know if 35 went evenly into 475…

The time was ticking down. Tsuna decided to guess. "Um, 12?"

**INCORRECT**

**- 1 Point**

**Total: 5 Points**

The game kept going. Tsuna missed several more, but eventually he got to:

**Total: 10 Points**

**FIRST CATEGORY COMPLETED**

**MATH HOMEWORK added to Inventory**

**SECOND CATEGORY: HISTORY**

Tsuna didn't have a great memory, but he was better at History than Math at least.

It took him a while, but he only got two questions wrong and ended up completing the second category. He realized then each category finished once he'd answered ten questions in it, whatever point total that was.

**Total: 32**

**SECOND CATEGORY COMPLETED**

**HISTORY HOMEWORK added to Inventory**

**THIRD CATEGORY: SCIENCE**

Tsuna struggled through, hitting the time limit several times, and ended up only getting four of the ten questions correct.

**Total: 38**

**THIRD CATEGORY COMPLETED**

**SCIENCE HOMEWORK added to Inventory**

**FOURTH CATEGORY: JAPANESE LANGUAGE**

Tsuna took all the time he had to actually think—and sometimes talk—through every question and ended up getting all ten questions right.

**Total: 68**

**FOURTH CATEGORY COMPLETED**

**LANGUAGE HOMEWORK added to Inventory**

**FINAL CATEGORY: ENGLISH**

Final Category! But that meant he had to get… well he wasn't great at math but he had to get a lot of the questions right to get that 85 point total he needed.

The thing was, and Tsuna was only just now realizing this about himself, he actually worked quite well under pressure.

And in the end, with seven questions correct, Tsuna got it.

**Total: 86**

**FIFTH CATEGORY COMPLETED**

**ENGLISH HOMEWORK added to Inventory**

**HOMEWORK CHALLENGE COMPLETE**

**86 POINT TOTAL**

Tsuna cheered. "I did it! I actually did it!"

The words on the desk faded away, but the grey stayed.

**QUEST COMPLETED: Get 85 Homework Points**

**100 XP**

**+1 INTELLIGENCE**

**Reborn Ability Unlocked: HOME TUTOR**

"Main Menu," Tsuna said before the words could fade back to reality.

He checked his Status first.

**STATUS**

**SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI**

**LEVEL:** 2 (400 XP to Next Level)

**HEALTH:** 4/8

**ENERGY:** 8/8

**STATS:**

- ATTACK: 1 (+1-3)

- DEFENSE: 1 (+3)

- MOVEMENT: 5 (-1)

- INTELLIGENCE: 2

- CHARM: 1

**FLAME TYPE:** Sky

**ABILITIES:**

- VONGOLA HYPER INTUITION (Rank 1)

- DYING WILL MODE

**… Back to Main Menu**

Another toward Intelligence and only 400 to the next level. He went back to Main Menu and then Characters.

**ALLIED CHARACTERS**

**- Reborn**

**- Timoteo**

**- Sawada Nana**

**… Back to Characters**

He clicked on Reborn.

**REBORN**

**LEVEL:** 100

**HEALTH:** 5,000

**ENERGY:** 1,000

**FLAME TYPE:** Sun

**ABILITIES:**

- LEON THE CHAMELEON

- HOME TUTOR

- _?_

**RELATIONSHIP:**

- Friendship 0/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 2/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 15/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Allies**

Hoping for more information, he clicked on the second ability.

**HOME TUTOR**

**ABILITY TYPE**: Non-Combat Support

**SUMMARY**: This ability is only available to characters above Level 50. The user must always answer a direct question from their personal student until their student grows above Level 15. The user always has a 1/2 chance of answering a direct answer from any other character under Level 15.

**… Close**

"Nice," Tsuna said. Reborn _had_ to answer his questions now.

Curious, Tsuna went back and clicked on Reborn's other ability.

**LEON THE CHAMELEON**

**ABILITY TYPE: **Animal Companion

**SUMMARY: **This animal companion is a shapeshifter that can be used to hide his partner from sight or become a weapon to use in combat. This companion can also create items such as DYING WILL BULLETS.

**… Close**

Wait… if he could get more information on the abilities of other people, that meant he could check out what Vongola Nono meant. He headed over to Timoteo's page and clicked it.

**VONGOLA NONO**

**ABILITY TYPE: **Passive

**SUMMARY: **This character is the ninth boss of the Vongola Famiglia. He therefore commands all Vongola-aligned characters. He gets a 500 percent boosted DEFENSE stat when fighting alongside Vongola-aligned characters. Vongola-aligned characters that fight him have their ATTACK stat halved.

**… Close**

That sounded pretty nice actually. Was that what he would get if he became Vongola Decimo? It actually sounded a bit safer than not being the boss. Then again, mafia bosses were probably more of a target than middle school boys.

Curious, Tsuna went over to Mochida's page.

**MOCHIDA KENSUKE**

**LEVEL:** 5

**HEALTH:** 25

**ENERGY: **20

**FLAME TYPE:** Lightning

**ABILITIES:**

- KENDO COMBO STRIKE

- CAPTAIN OF THE KENDO TEAM

**RELATIONSHIP:**

- Friendship 1/25

- Romance (LOCKED)

- Respect 11/25

- Rapport (LOCKED)

- Aggression 7/25

- Hostility (LOCKED)

**… Back to Neutrals**

He clicked on the first of Mochida's abilities.

**KENDO COMBO STRIKE**

**ABILITY TYPE: **Combat (PHYSICAL)

**SUMMARY: **This ability is an attack. It can only be used if the character has a SWORD-type weapon equipped.

**RANK 1: **When used, this ability adds 3-5 damage to the character's ATTACK for the next strike.

**RANK 2: **_?_

**… Close**

He wondered why he couldn't see what rank Mochida's ability was, like he could for his Hyper Intuition. Was it because Mochida was only a Neutral Character? He could probably assume that the strike was only Rank 1, since that was the only one he could see in the info section, but still… he wanted it to be a bit clearer.

Sighing, Tsuna hit close and clicked on the other ability.

**CAPTAIN OF THE KENDO TEAM**

**ABILITY TYPE: **Passive

**SUMMARY: **This character is the captain of his or her school's kendo team. This character gets a 200 percent boosted ATTACK stat when fighting alongside any character using a SWORD-type weapon.

**… Close**

Okay, so he should _not _fight Mochida alongside anyone else on the kendo team.

Tsuna went to check on his Inventory next and clicked on the various tabs.

**EQUIPMENT**

BASIC KENDO SHOULDER PADS

BASIC KENDO HELMET

BASIC KENDO CHEST GUARD

**AVAILABLE SLOTS:** 23

**… Back to Main Menu**

**CONSUMABLES**

BOTTLE OF MILK

SLICE OF BREAD

**AVAILABLE SLOTS:** 25

**… Back to Main Menu**

**MISCELLANEOUS**

PACK OF CIGARETTES

**AVAILABLE SLOTS:** 24

**… Back to Main Menu**

**KEY ITEMS**

MATH HOMEWORK

HISTORY HOMEWORK

SCIENCE HOMEWORK

LANGUAGE HOMEWORK

ENGLISH HOMEWORK

**AVAILABLE SLOTS:** 20

**… Back to Main Menu**

So the homework was a key item? He clicked on his math homework.

**MATH HOMEWORK**

**ITEM LEVEL:** Grade 7

**ITEM TYPE:** School Homework

**USE:** Turn in during class to receive +1 INTELLIGENCE for every 5 correct answers.

**GIVE:** Y/N?

**… Close**

Tsuna checked and it was the same for every homework piece. If he remembered correctly, that meant that he'd get +5 Intelligence. He got at least at least five correct answers on everything but Science, and ten questions right on Japanese Language.

He wondered if that number would correlate to what he got in class? Even with the 40-60 range, that was better than he usually did in those classes. And Language! He'd gotten it all right! He hoped the teacher would think he'd cheated. Well, he'd just tell all his teachers the truth—his mom had gotten him a home tutor. That should satisfy them.

Tsuna wondered if he could do the Homework Challenge again to get more Intelligence, but when he tried to click on the title from the Quest menu, it gave him a message.

**HOMEWORK CHALLENGER has already been used this week.**

A week long time out? He hoped he wouldn't have to do homework the regular way the rest of the week. He was in a game now, maybe what he turned in would satisfy his teachers.

Tsuna closed the menu and entered back into the real world.

Reborn was sitting on his bed still, but the coffee cup was gone. Tsuna still sat on his desk chair and he turned it around to face the baby.

"Alright, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said. "Since you completed your homework, I'll answer your questions."

"Boys, I have dinner!" Nana called from the other side of Tsuna's door. She opened it and walked in with two steaming plates. "Since you seem to be having so much fun up here, I thought I'd let you eat in the room. Have a good night!"

"Thanks, Mom," Tsuna said, taking his plate.

As he started to eat, he saw text appear.

**Sawada Nana uses HOME-COOKED MEAL which restores all characters HEALTH to full.**

Awesome! That was a way to heal without having to use his items, since it seemed his Health hadn't healed on its own.

"Okay, Reborn-san," Tsuna said as they ate. "You promised to explain what Dying Will was."

He ate and listened as Reborn described Dying Will Flames and Dying Will Mode, which apparently could be induced by Dying Will Bullets or Dying Will Pills.

"But that doesn't seem very safe," Tsuna said. "I lost total control of my body. Even with the extra, uh, strength, I don't want that."

"Dying Will Mode is just the first step to learning to control your Flames without help," Reborn explained. "The next step is Hyper Dying Will Mode."

"How do I get that?"

Reborn smirked. "Training."

**QUEST RECEIVED: Unlock Hyper Dying Will Mode**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

"Yes," Tsuna said, then declined to see his journal. "So, I need to get this Hyper Dying Will Mode to be the next Vongola boss?"

"Yes."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. Even if Reborn had to answer his questions, he could still be annoyingly vague about it. "Why?"

Reborn sighed. "Every major mafia family fights first and foremost with the use of their Flames. A mafia boss is not respected unless they have Sky Flames and can control them."

"What are Sky Flames?"

"There are seven types of Flames. Sky are the rarest type, the supposed leaders." Reborn snorted. "We'll see if you can be anything but a meek follower, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna was really starting to hate hearing Reborn call him that. "What are the other Flame types?"

"Storm, Rain, Lightning, Sun, Cloud, and Mist. In mafia ranking, the Sky-wielding boss chooses one of each Flame type to be his or her Guardian. That individual theoretically leads all the others of that Flame type in the Famiglia and more practically they serve as the boss's council. Even those with Sky Flames who aren't mafia bosses will often get Guardians."

"So I need to get these Guardians too?"

"Yes. And soon, Dame-Tsuna. Your Guardians should be some of your first and most important Family members."

Tsuna had a feeling that when Reborn said "Family" he didn't mean Tsuna's mother.

**QUEST RECEIVED: Get a Storm Guardian**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

Tsuna accepted the quest and immediately another appeared.

**QUEST RECEIVED: Get a Rain Guardian**

**ACCEPT QUEST: Y/N?**

Tsuna sighed and accepted again. And again. And again, until he'd accepted all six Guardian quests. He chose to look at his journal after the last one and clicked on the first Guardian quest.

**QUEST: Get a Storm Guardian**

**SUMMARY: Sawada Tsunayoshi **must promote an **Allied Character** with at least 1/25 in Rapport to the position of Storm Guardian.

**QUEST OBJECTIVE: **Promote an **Allied Character **to Storm Guardian.

**QUEST REWARD**: 1,000 XP, **Allied Character** Ability Activated: STORM GUARDIAN, Rapport +10.

**BONUS REWARD**: If this is the final Guardian, Ability Activated: COMPLETE SKY.

**… Back to Main Quests**

"Wow," Tsuna said. That was kind of intense. And they needed at least one point in Rapport? He hadn't even figured out how to unlock that yet!

Well, he'd work on it. Tsuna closed the menu and returned to his conversation with Reborn.

Except, he didn't really know what other questions to ask. He wanted to bring up Reborn being a baby, but he had a feeling that was a sensitive subject (that and the **Hyper Intuition Senses Danger!** that appeared as soon as he considered asking).

Eventually, Tsuna just took his and Reborn's plates to the kitchen and washed them. When he came back to his room, Reborn was asleep on a hammock. Once again, Tsuna wondered if Reborn was in the game too. How else could he store things like the hammock and the family chart from earlier without Tsuna seeing a big pile of bags?

Tsuna headed to his bed and let himself sink into it. Tomorrow would be a new day and, for once, he was kind of looking forward to it.


End file.
